A new assistant superintendent will soon join the Carmel Clay Schools administration team.
At the start of 2020, Tom Oestreich will become the assistant superintendent of staff and student services. He will replace Steve Stephanoff, CCS’s director of human resources, who will retire at the end of the year.
“It is my great pleasure to introduce Dr. Tom Oestreich to you,” Supt. Michael Beresford said at a Nov. 11 school board meeting. “Through a very competitive process, he was the top pick to serve as our new assistant superintendent of staff and student services.”
Beresford said Oestreich’s responsibilities will include managing recruitment, retention and talent development of all CCS employees, along with overseeing the student services department, which is responsible for school safety and mental health initiatives.
“He’s going to be the top support guy in the district,” Beresford said. “He’s been in education for 20 years. His first step into education was at Carmel High School as a student teacher, so he’s come home.”
Oestreich is employed at the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township as assistant superintendent, a role that is responsible for overseeing safety, security, technology, grants, student support programs and more.
“Prior to that, he spent quite a few years as the assistant superintendent of human resources. He’s dealt with recruitment, hiring, evaluation, benefits and service programs for over 1,600 employees (at MSDWT),” Beresford said. “He’s got experience in a big school system setting, which really gave him a lot of credibility with the committee.”
Oestreich earned his bachelor’s degree in music education at Butler University and his master’s degree in school administration and doctorate of educational leadership, with a minor in curriculum instruction, from Indiana University. He also was the Washington Township Administrator of the Year in 2014.
“I’m very excited to join and work with our teachers and our administrators and staff as well as working with the leadership team here in Carmel Clay Schools,” Oestreich said at the meeting. “I’m most excited to get to know everybody. I have lots of colleagues who are here in Carmel who I look forward to reconnecting with, and I certainly look forward to getting to know all of our staff and families and students throughout the Carmel Clay community.”
